The libertarian magazine Reason falsely asserted on Thursday that electronic debit cards issued to people in the food stamp program could be used to purchase adult sex toys at a lingerie shop in Louisiana.

Earlier this week, WAFB reported that Kiss My Lingerie in South Louisiana had been accepting the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card for the past eight months.

According to the Department of Children and Family Services, about 10,000 Louisiana families get cash benefits from the federal government to help cover family needs. And WAFB pointed out that Alcohol, tobacco and adult entertainment items cannot be purchased with the card.

In a post on Reason‘s “Hit & Run” blog on Thursday, editor Elizabeth Nolan Brown declared that poor families could “Buy Dildos on the Taxpayer Dime in Louisiana.”

“[U]ndergarments in general are a pretty basic necessity, so not beyond the pale as an EBT purchase per se,” Brown admitted. “But you can sure buy your bras cheaper at Target than at a lingerie shop.”

“And from the looks of things, the kinds of items Kiss My Lingerie sells are pretty far from basic undergarments. EBT benefits could also be used there to purchase ‘toys and novelties.'”

An employee at Kiss My Lingerie, however, told Raw Story that the company did not accept EBT cards for adult toys.

“We don’t accept that for adult toys,” she said. “No, no way.”

Reason did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

About the Author

David Edwards has served as an editor at Raw Story since 2006. His work can also be found at Crooks & Liars, and he's also been published at The BRAD BLOG. He came to Raw Story after working as a network manager for the state of North Carolina and as as engineer developing enterprise resource planning software. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEdwards.